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CALGARY — For years, Don Sweet carried the burden of missing a potential Grey Cup-winning field goal on a frigid field at McMahon Stadium, the scene of Sunday’s CFL West final between the Stampeders and B.C Lions.

In bitter foothills weather, where the wind gusted and swirled, Sweet was wide on a 19-yard attempt that cost his Montreal Alouettes the cup 41 years ago. The Edmonton Eskimos won 9-8, a score reflecting the near impossibility of making plays under abominable conditions.

Wind and cold are like Kryptonite to kickers. But that’s not why Sweet screwed up.

“For 35 years, I kept my mouth shut,” he says. “I took the blame. But the ball (from snapper Wayne Conrad) floated. It was flat when Jimmy Jones (the holder) laid it down. I had to hit it like a soccer ball. Don’t think I ever missed another in 14 years from 19 yards. I’m 68 now, so I can speak my mind about it.”

A self-described “mentor, coach and sports psychologist” for CFL punters and kickers, Sweet has a bet on every horse in Sunday’s Western derby to pick a representative for the 104th Grey Cup game in Toronto. Stampeders kicker Rene Paredes and punter Rob Maver, as well as Lions kicker Paul McCallum and punter Richie Leone, all lean on Sweet for advice and counsel. When times are tough, the kicking guru from Langley is their father confessor.

“Pretty much, I’m like the swing coach who tutors 20 golf pros all trying to win the big prize,” Sweet says. “I want them to do well. I’m rooting for them all. It’s flip of the coin as to who has the edge.”

Predictably, if it comes down to a long-distance kick needed to advance their team to the championship game, Paredes and McCallum want to be in the position to make it.

“I would rather win by 30 (points),” Paredes says. “If the time comes that the game is on the line and we need a kick to win the game, that’s my job. I’m ready for it.”

In his previous 23 CFL seasons — and the two games since he returned to the Lions to put them over the hump with Leone struggling to make field goals — McCallum has been a hero many times.

But he’s also heroically dealt with failure. People in Saskatchewan will remember forever his miss from 18 yards out in the 2004 West final in Vancouver that cost the Roughriders a chance to go to the Grey Cup.

“I learned about Don’s miss (in 1975) after I missed that kick,” McCallum says. “If people want to remember that, it’s up to them. Since then, I’ve kicked lots of (important) field goals.

“No, I’m never fearful. If we have one shot to win the game, and we’re down by two, that’s what you want. You want the ball on your foot at that time.”

Calgary Stampeders’ Rene Paredes smiles after kicking a field goal against the B.C. Lions in 2013.DARRYL DYCK /
THE CANADIAN PRESS

At 46, McCallum still holds the CFL record for the longest field goal — 62 yards, which came at Taylor Field in Regina 15 years ago. (The longest kick in NFL history is 64 yards by Matt Prater, set at mile-high altitude in Denver). McCallum’s range today, he reckons, is probably 10 yards less than that.

Paredes says he has hit field goals from 60 yards out in practice at McMahon, which is 1,045 metres above sea level and has the best kicking conditions of any CFL venue, according to McCallum.

“If you have to make a prayer shot, that’s the place to do it,” he says. “When you’re playing indoors (B.C. Place Stadium), you’ve got to hit the ball true. There’s so much dead air. The ball doesn’t travel like you think it would.”

Thus, Justin Medlock’s last-minute 61-yard prayer shot last Sunday, when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers were hoping somebody up there was listening at the conclusion of the West semifinal.

On third-and-four, Blue Bombers coach Mike O’Shea decided to have Medlock attempt a low-percentage kick, rather than have quarterback Matt Nichols go for a first down. There were still 36 seconds left when the kick came up short. The Lions won 32-31. That’s why they’re in Calgary Sunday.

Both McCallum and Paredes were dismayed by the call.

“I thought it would have been a smarter decision to get the first down, get closer and try a 50-something kick,” Paredes says. “Kicking a 61-yarder, in that dome, at sea level … Well, it’s pretty hard.”

Says McCallum: “Even if I were him (Medlock), and I knew I might make it, I probably would have said to my coach, ‘Go for the first down.’ You can try five of those 61-yarders and maybe make one. To put your season on a hope and a prayer, to me, doesn’t make sense.”

Prove yourself a champion, when the game is on the line, and people will love you forever. But fall short, especially when the attempt is less than impossible, and people may never forgive.

Still, if a kick to win is required Sunday, McCallum and Paredes want to be in nobody’s shoes but their own.

B.C. Lions (13-6) at Calgary Stampeders (15-2-1)

Sunday, 1:30 p.m. PST | McMahon Stadium

TV: TSN | Radio: TSN 1040 AM

The set-up

B.C. and Calgary are in the CFL West final for the first time since 2012, when the first-place Lions (13-5) were upset at B.C. Place Stadium. The Stampeders took the lead in that game on just the third play from scrimmage, a touchdown pass from backup quarterback Kevin Glenn to Marquay McDaniel (who is still with the team), and went on to post a 34-29 victory. The 2016 Lions are looking to do the same against the favoured Stamps, this time at McMahon Stadium, knowing that Calgary clinched first place back on Oct. 10 and hasn’t played a meaningful game in a month. The Stamps are well rested, but the Lions have momentum.

Lions’ last game

A pulsating 32-31 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the West Division semi-final was not for the faith of heart. The Lions trailed at the start of every quarter and were down by 19 points in the first half before rallying behind quarterback Jonathon Jennings. Jennings accounted for three touchdowns in the second half, his second rushing touchdown — on a broken play in which he vaulted into the end zone — giving the Lions the lead for the first time with 93 seconds left in regulation. The game wasn’t decided, however, until Winnipeg coach Mike O’Shea controversially had kicker Justin Medlock attempt a 61-yard field goal on third-and-four. It came up short.

Stampeders’ last game

Invincible from July 1 to Oct. 21, the Stampeders had a 14-game win streak come to an end in Montreal on Oct. 30 — their last game of the regular season — when Stamps head coach Dave Dickenson elected to sit starting quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell and leave leading receiver Marquay McDaniel at home. The 17-8 defeat to the Alouettes, Calgary’s first since losing the season opener 20-18 to B.C., kept the Stampeders from establishing the best regular-season record in CFL history. Dickenson admitted it was hard to manufacture intensity and focus for a game which meant little. Can the Stamps summon those qualities now, when they’re really needed?

Lions player to watch: Jonathon Jennings, quarterback

It wasn’t a leap of faith that made Jennings the starting quarterback of the Lions. Circumstances placed the fate of the team in the hands of the rookie last year, when starter Travis Lulay and backup John Beck got injured. Now, 26 starts later, the 24-year-old Jennings is recognized as a wondrous talent and an elite CFL field general. In his only previous playoff experience at McMahon Stadium, the 2015 West semi-final, he was sacked twice, threw an interception and injured his shoulder before half-time. The Stampeders routed the Lions 35-9. On July 29, the Lions’ last visit to Calgary, Jennings had the game in his pocket, only to throw two late-game interceptions, one in overtime, in a heart-breaking 44-41 loss. Jennings says he isn’t seeking personal redemption on Sunday, although that’s undoubtedly how others would see it.

Stampeders player to watch, Bo Levi Mitchell, quarterback

After chasing the best record in CFL history, the legacy of the 2016 Calgary Stampeders could turn to ashes if, at the end of a celestial season, they come up short in the playoffs. It’s happened to 15-3 Stampeders teams before. If the thought of playoff flop is on the mind of Bo Levi Mitchell — the leading most outstanding player candidate — it’s never voiced or acknowledged. What is apparent is Mitchell’s consuming confidence in himself and his team. His finest of five CFL seasons saw the Eastern Washington product throw for 5,385 yards, 35 touchdowns and eight interceptions. “I’m not taking anything away from anybody else, but I prepare harder than anybody who plays this game,” Mitchell says. “I put myself in a position to play confidently. I’m the most prepared person. That’s what I pride myself in.”

The three keys

1. The X-factor

In Chris Rainey, the Lions have the most unique weapon in the CFL. Between kick returns, rushing and receiving, Rainey accounted for 2,945 yards, a team record. He’s also taken a more prominent role in the offence over the last two games and played a huge role in the West semifinal win over Winnipeg. Rainey caught three passes in the Lions’ final two touchdown drives and, in the second quarter, supplied one of the game’s key plays when he turned a simple check-down into a 37-yard gain. Rainey has returned four kicks for touchdowns in his year-and-a-half with the Lions and all have come against Calgary. Much of this game represents a known quantity for both these teams, but Rainey is the wild card. He can change the course of a game with one touch.

2. Pressure drop

It wasn’t exactly the main storyline to emerge from last week’s semifinal but there was one stat which should concern the Lions: They failed to sack Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols. Against the Stamps, the issue isn’t getting to Bo Levi Mitchell, but the Leos have to make things uncomfortable for the CFL’s leading quarterback. Calgary surrendered just 20 sacks this season, mostly because Mitchell gets rid of the ball in a hurry. The Lions recorded eight of those sacks in their three meetings, but the more important point is generating consistent pressure. If Mitchell has time, he can pick any team apart. It’s a different story if he’s under duress, which is true of any quarterback. On the other side of the ball, the Lions have to contain rush end Charleston Hughes, who led the CFL with 16 sacks and always seems to have a big game against the Leos.

3. A meeting of the minds

Look at the experience of the two head coaches — Wally Buono is in his 23rd year leading a CFL team, Calgary’s Dave Dickenson is in his first — and you’d assume a big edge for Buono. The problem is Dickenson didn’t look like a rookie coach, leading the Stamps to a 15-2-1 record in his first season as John Hufnagel’s hand-picked successor. Now the stakes have been raised and the Lions come into the West final riding a four-game winning streak. Will Buono’s experience be a factor in this game? Hard to know, but there is considerable personal history between the two organizations. Dickenson played nine years for Buono at quarterback. Hufnagel, now the Stamps’ GM, was Buono’s offensive coordinator in Calgary. There aren’t a lot of secrets between the three men and both teams play a similar brand of football. “John has a lot of my traits, or I have a lot of his traits,” Buono says. One other thing to consider: Since Hufnagel arrived in Calgary in 2008, the Stamps are 3-0 against the Lions in the playoffs.

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